I’ve been writing about castor oil a lot, mainly because I’ve had some wonderful results from it personally. Among other things, castor oil has aided in my recovery from PCOS and dissolved a painful calcium deposit on my heel. That it could do those things were amazing to me — it still is.

Sometimes though, I find myself reluctant to write about my own positive experiences because the extent of my successful healing can sound like I’m making it all up. I think part of it is because the “accepted” way of getting treatment for most of the modern Western world is to go to a doctor, take lots of pills (ALL of which are liver-toxic, by the way) or go for painful surgery (which may or may not make things worse). If you do these things, no one will question your sanity or your prudence.

This is despite the fact that most modern, accepted treatments are expensive, with possibly harmful side effects, may/may not even work, usually become ineffective when discontinued (which means you are chained for life), only seeks to treat the surface symptoms, and abandons even the pretense of healing as its aim. The last one makes me want to alternately cry and tear my hair out because it’s madness… unethical, even.

Meanwhile, the method of treatment I’m proposing (castor oil) is so simple, cheap and effective that many will write it off without even giving it a chance. After all, how can it work when it’s not expensive, painful and harmful to us, right? I know some might mock me or think me as simple-minded, or even worse, a scam artist…

The other day, someone asked me in the comments if I was writing about castor oil because I make money by selling it. I do not produce or sell castor oil on this site or anywhere else. I never have. All the ads on my article pages are contextual ads, not direct product ads. My first instinct when reading this commenter’s question was to feel somewhat hurt/indignant. But after a while, I ended up feeling quite grateful to the commenter as it gave me a chance to clarify an issue that I didn’t even know might cross some readers’ minds.

I seem to have rambled on a bit here… My point is, in the end, it really doesn’t matter what some choose to believe or disbelieve about castor oil. It only matters what I believe/experience/do/ultimately share with the world. I know my messages will go out to those who really need it. That to me is everything. And that is partly why I’ve decided to write this article. Hopefully, it will convince some people to open up their minds a little. Well, I can hope!

This article is quite different from my other ones. I’ve realised that while it’s one thing for me to TELL people about my experience with using castor oil, it’s quite something else when I can SHOW them. That’s right, I’m putting aside any self-consciousness I have and showing everyone my own before-and-after photos. Yeah!!! And here we go…

The story of how I healed my scar using castor oil

THE SHORT VERSION: I successfully healed a three-year old deep burn scar on my leg by using castor oil. Scroll down for photos galore. The end.

THE LONG VERSION: In 2007, I accidentally burned my leg on a hot motorcycle exhaust pipe. Yes, I lead a very exciting life. 🙂 The burn was on the inner calf of my right leg. My initial injury can be classified as a deep second-degree burn.

After the wound scabbed and peeled over a couple of weeks, the scarred skin that emerged was:

almost completely hairless

much less sensitive to touch than the normal, healthy skin around it. These mean the burn was deep and severe enough to have “killed” most of the hair follicles as well as some nerve endings.

had a complete and “permanent” change in color. This was mostly hyper-pigmentation (darkening) mixed with a bit of hypo-pigmentation (loss of color), which is common in deep burns. The pigment change was dermal (reached the lower dermis layer of the skin, as opposed to the upper epidermis only), and deep enough that conventional lightening treatments such as hydroquinone could do nothing to change it.

there was also a slight crescent-shaped depression close to the centre of the scar. I could feel the dip in my skin by touch alone.

In October 2009, I started using castor oil on my leg.By June 2010 (9 months later), the scar was almost gone.

Amazingly, after this nine-month period:

there was normal hair growth— I know the photos below don’t show the hair, but that’s only because I’d shaved my legs.

my touch sensitivityreturned — nerves I previously thought were dead and gone were revived back to life

skin color/pigmentation returned to normal, blending in almost flawlessly with my surrounding skin. This was not something I expected at all since I have olive skin or Type IV skin

the small depression had mostly filled in with healthy new tissue

In the most recent photo below (March 2011), you can still see a shadow of the scar on my calf. However, this was deliberate on my part — in August 2010, I decided to stop using castor oil on my leg. As strange as this may sound, I wanted a little bit of my scar to remain with me, because in my eyes, it had turned from a flaw into a reminder of my mind-opening journey.

You may read this article and imagine that the journey was a completely smooth, confident and happy one for me, but that isn’t the case at all. I had many ups and downs. During the first few months, I had many “downs”. There were days when I lost faith and thought about giving up. But as I discovered, all things change with time.

So yes, I want to keep a little bit of my scar with me. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come and how much I’ve healed. Even now, everytime I look at it, I’d feel so very grateful for my healing and in awe of my body’s amazing transformation.

It truly makes me wonder what else is possible!

My method of using castor oil

How I used castor oil was easy — I kept it on my scar as much as I can. There were many days when I kept castor oil on my scar for almost 24 hours a day (excluding the breaks for showers).

During the day, I would massage castor oil into my scar. Sometimes I did this a few times a day. I learnt to carry a tiny travel bottle of castor oil with me to do this in the restroom at public places or at work.

At night, I would put a castor oil pack on my scar before going to bed. A castor oil pack is just a way to keep castor oil on the skin by wrapping it up. For my castor oil pack, I would slather the oil on my scar, cover it with cotton gauze, put more castor oil over that, and then wrap my calf up in cling film (plastic wrap) to keep it from staining my sheets. I then put on a long sock to make sure everything stayed on while I slept. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but I got it done very quickly, usually in less than a few minutes.

What I used

I used only microwave-safe cling film that’s toxin-free, which seems to be fairly safe. It’s important to use toxin-free plastic if you’re putting on a castor oil pack. Castor oil is a very good solvent and can displace the chemicals and dyes in some plastics. Once displaced, these chemicals may be readily absorbed by the skin, leading to irritation (thanks to dollfaceluna for pointing this out to me!).
[UPDATE: I recently found something that might work even better than cling flim — silicone food wraps (sometimes called stretch lids/silicone lids). They’re stronger than cling film, clear, washable and maintain their shape (they don’t bunch up easily). And because they’re washable and reusable, they also save money and reduce waste. I bought a set and it’s very easy to cut them down to size. Most come in a few sizes, so you may not even need to cut them.]

I used cotton gauze because it was cheap and disposable, but when I first started out, I was using cut cloth (basic unbleached cotton). Both are fine, but because castor oil will go rancid eventually, I’d need to wash/dry the cloth every few nights to keep it fresh. Eventually, I switched to cotton gauze that I bought at the pharmacy. Gauze was cheap, plentiful and disposable, so I didn’t need to wash it. It came in long strips so I cut them up into small squares for my use. If you decide to use cloth instead, here’s a tip: wash it out with baking soda. Baking soda gets castor oil out very well.

The brands of castor oil I used were Home Health, Heritage and Now Foods (where to buy castor oil?). However, this shouldn’t matter. Any brand that’s hexane-free and cold-pressed will do (the oil should ideally be cold-pressed because it retains more nutrients this way — the cold-pressed oil extraction method is much gentler than conventional methods; for example, it uses no heat). Anyway, I couldn’t tell any difference in the quality between the brands I used. So don’t worry about brands so much, I made my own purchasing choices based on how large a bottle I could get for as low a price as possible, just because I go through a LOT of castor oil. 🙂

I used castor oil this way daily, but I also took breaks from it once in a while to let my skin rest. I found that my heavy usage of castor oil would sometimes “loosen” the skin on my scar, making it look a bit wrinkly. Kind of like the way skin would “prune up” when we stay in a bath too long. I wasn’t worried the first time I noticed this “loosening effect” because I somehow knew it was temporary. This probably happens because castor oil is a very good humectant and will put moisture into the skin. The breaks I took gave my skin a rest and then everything would tighten up again. This would be anywhere between a week to two weeks. I took as much time as my skin needed to tighten back up.

Just to be clear, this temporary loosening only happened because I was using castor oil very intensively on my scar (almost 24 hours/day and over many consecutive days). I’ve never gotten any such effect through normal usage of castor oil on other parts of my body or my face.

In the beginning, I worried that taking these breaks from my regimen would delay my healing. But when I saw that my scar was continuing to heal and progress regardless, I started to change my mind. I now believe these breaks were beneficial and possibly even crucial in healing my scar. I believe my skin was rebuilding itself more efficiently during the rest periods, while breaking down the scar tissue more actively during the “on” periods. But that’s just my personal opinion, I don’t exactly know how castor oil was able to do what it did for me, I only have my theories. (If you’re interested in finding out more on your own, google Edgar Cayce and castor oil. Edgar Cayce was a pioneer and advocate of castor oil use. )

Like I told a commenter (Matt), it’s a fairly intensive daily regimen, which was sometimes hard to keep up with. But then I started to see results… Slowly but surely, I saw my scar changing with my own eyes after a few months. This was the proof that kept me going when I would have otherwise given up.

How my scar changed

Everyone’s scars and skin injuries are different so it would make sense for us to heal differently. This was how my scar changed.

The appearance of tiny light dots

After a few months, I started seeing many tiny, light-ish dots in my hyperpigmented scar. They were so tiny at first that I could only see them by looking closely under the bright light of a torch. Then the tiny dots grew large enough that I could see them in normal lighting.

These dots continued to expand and eventually started to join up with each other. I got very excited at that. Eventually, I had small patches of healed, unblemished skin within my scar, which I spent many minutes staring at and touching…. I was simply amazed at them.

Hair growth (important for regeneration!)

At the same time, I started seeing short and very fine, light-colored hairs appear on my scar. At first, these hairs were almost colourless and looked “golden” under a light. Over time, they grew longer, thicker and darker, until they looked no different from the hair on the rest of my legs. I noticed that my scar started to show faster improvement after normal hair growth returned.

This is probably because hair growth and follicles are important in cell regeneration. You may be surprised by this, but stem cells — which turn into our skin cells and nerve cells and everything else — originate from our hair follicles (these stem cells also aid skin regeneration after an injury—read ‘Hair follicle stem cells – the hairy truth‘). Knowing that my follicles were important in healing my scar, I made sure not to harm them by waxing since this would pull them from the root. And yes, I admit that I even avoided shaving my scar most of the time just to be safe. Although in theory, shaving should not do much harm, and what harm it causes should be temporary at the most.

Basically, the changes in my scar came slowly and started out very small, but these little changes added up to a big one over nine months.

In fact, here’s another tip: if you’re trying to heal a scar with castor oil, take a good, clear photo of it now if you can. It would be useful for you to look at it and make comparisons after a few months just because it’s sometimes hard for us to see the changes in something that we look at everyday.

About the photos

It was awkward for me to take photos of my calf with my phone. The easiest way for me to take a good shot was to rest my right calf over my left thigh. I actually have tons of photos, these are only a few. What can I say… I’m a big geek and something of an amateur documenter. I’ve been journaling for many years now for my own nerdy pleasure. I never thought I would share these photos with anyone else, let alone publish them online for the whole world to see!

If you’re reading this and have a deep scar you wish to treat, I hope my photos and story give you some hope. 🙂

Date

Photos (click to enlarge)

Details

May 2008

Taken with Sony Ericsson K770i Cybershot. Flash was OFF. You can clearly see the crescent-shaped depression in the middle.

May 2008

Taken with Sony Ericsson K770i Cybershot. Flash was ON. Compare with the photo above taken on the same occasion. The camera flash makes a big difference.

Another angle to give you some context. Taken with Sony Ericsson Hazel (no timestamp feature available). Flash was ON.

Note: Thank you to the girl I saw at lunchtime today. She was walking ahead of me in a skirt and had the same burn scar I did, on the same place on her calf. I really, really wanted to ask her about it (motorcycle exhaust pipe, huh?). I wanted to roll up my pant leg, show her my calf and share with her what I did to heal it. But I didn’t. Eventhough I would have approached her with nothing but love and an enthusiastic desire to share/help, I thought there was a chance she would not have wanted my help in that setting (we were in a crowded place and she was not alone).

Afterwards, I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision in not speaking to her. Sometimes, we fear too much and a golden moment in life might pass us by. I thought about how I could make things right somehow, and I came up with the idea of putting this article + some of my photos together. So this was all really inspired by her. Thank you!

Castor oil has many medicinal and curative uses, and the same properties that make it so effective in healing the body also make it an excellent choice for maintaining beautiful and healthy skin and hair.

Castor oil, like many of mother nature's gifts, are usually dismissed as 'alternative' therapy. However, castor oil has been used and recommended for centuries by physicians for its powerful medicinal and curative effects.

tnx for your post. Pls i had a burn on my right tigh 9yrs ago, some parts healed smoothly y, some developed a scar. Pls i want to knw if using castor oil will make it peel off and form a fresh wound. Just scared cos i dnt want to cos any havoc to myself. Cos the scar does not pain me, though some little hairs have started growing on it. And pls since it sticks how can i apply it during the day since one might go out. And do i get a plastic from a pharmaceutical store. Tnx in anticipation of ur reply

Castor oil won’t peel scars or create a wound. I’m not sure where you got the idea that it could do those things (?). Anyway it’s an oil, not an acid peel.

You could just use very little, like a drop or two of castor oil and rub this in well so it’s fully absorbed and leaves little/no excess that’ll stick to your clothes. If you’re worried, you can dab off any excess with some tissue paper.

And if you want to use more and cover it with plastic, cling film works. You can get this at the supermarket. And you could cut up some old pantyhose or tights and use this as a makeshift bandage to hold the plastic in place on your thigh. But that’s just one idea, you might find a better one that works for you.

Hi I was just wondering, will a Castro oil pack work on croup cough. I know a mustered plaster would work but it would be to strong for my three year old twins. Please get back to me when you can. Thanks

Yes, you can try a castor oil pack on the neck and chest for a few days and see if there’s any improvement. If your twins expel a lot of mucus, don’t be alarmed as it’s likely a much needed purging before they can get better.

If you have iodine tincture, you can also try painting some on the back.

I have the same motorcycle scar. :p Well, I did. I got mine as a pre-teen and growing has lessened the appearance of it quite a bit. BUT I do have a very large surgery-related scar that I am going to try castor oil on, thanks to your post. 🙂 Even if it just helps lessen the tightness of the scar tissue I will be happy. 🙂 Thanks for all your amazing posts on castor oil. I’ve been using it for over a year now for the oil cleansing method, but never knew all the other fun things I could do with it. 🙂

What do you think I could use instead of plastic wrap and cling film? because I’m mainly using castor oil on marks on my face and I want it to be less annoying as I possibly can. Or is it necessary to use cling film or heat for facial skin issues?

Thank you for your response but I would like to ask another question and I won’t bother you again, does Castor oil heal scars that are upwards of 10 to maybe 15 years old and skin dents? Is it worth a try?

In fact, I’ve been using castor oil to heal a very old scar on my elbow that’s more than 20 years old. It’s working the same way as it did for my burn scar (light spots, sensitivity returning, hair appearing etc).

I just wanted to chime in here as castor oil has been my saving grace more then once. Recently we went on vacation to Arizona from Washington so it was really warm for us. I was wearing backless sandals daily and my poor heels just had the moisture sacked right out of them. Nothing was helping with the cracking and by the time we were driving home my heels were bleeding. Racked my brain on the drive home to find a quick fix as I had to work the night after we got home.

Castor oil was the only thing I could think that would hold moisture, reduce inflammation/pain, and ward off infections. So I slathered it on twice daily to both feet and with in a week or so the cracks healed. I also noticed the 17 year old surgical scars I had on the tops of my feet had lessened in thickness and not nearly as sensitive to touch, the more normal skin color has also started to return. The look of the scars never bothered me but I thought it was interesting to see the changes.

However, I DO recommend giving castor oil a shot for scars and pain. Nothing to lose but a few bucks if it don’t work for you.

I love castor oil for everything from acne to wrinkles to hair thickening to chronic pain. It is my go to for many things ☺

It sounds like you might have bought castor oil that’s being sold as a flavored laxative. I don’t know, but there may be chemicals in something like that. You should probably use your own good judgement or wait until you can get the right type of castor oil (hexane-free and cold-pressed).

Hi Samantha
Thanks so much for this article. You don’t talk much about the hypo-pigmentation. I have extensive white patches over my face and arms, from a skin disease that I had years ago. How does castor oil work for hypo-pigmentation?
Thank you.

Castor oil worked for the hypopigmentation (light patches) just as well as it did for the hyperpigmentation (the dark patches) in my burn scar.

I don’t know how it was able to do this, but it makes sense since the loss of pigment was also the result of damage within the skin layers, though it manifested differently. And as the oil worked to return the damaged cells to health, getting back my regular pigmentation was just a part of this. I might even be inclined to say that it was a “side effect” of the healing, with the important work being quite unseen and beneath the skin’s surface, IMO.

Sorry I can’t give you a more scientific explanation as I myself don’t know how castor oil works. But the beautiful thing about life is that we don’t always need to know how something works, we just need to see that they do.

Still, I hope that helps somewhat.

p.s: I just remembered that castor oil packs can aid healing and the immune system by boosting white blood cells. That may have a big part to do with how it works to heal skin damage.

Thank you to Liza for mentioning hypopigmentation. And thank you to Suzanne for your helpful info! I was researching castor oil packs and started looking into other uses for it and randomly stumbled upon your page. I have hypopigmentation from laser hair removal and have been desperate to find a solution as I’m covered with light spots. I’m buying some TODAY to see if it’ll help bring my pigment back! Thank you!!!!!!

Hi,i am a boy 17yrs,i used bio-claire without knwng it consequences.now my skin is irritated with pimples,darksport i can’t even play anymore with my friends cause that product made me ugly so plz hlp me what can i do to get back my original skin..pls reply me

I’m not familiar with bioclaire, but you can try to reverse what damage it may have caused your skin with a deep healing oil. Castor oil is one option, but I find that because it’s so thick, it may be uncomfortable for use on the face. Lighter oils such as extra virgin coconut oil and shea butter might be better options.

IMO, what’s more crucial isn’t the type of oil used, but consistent usage and patience. Because of this, it’s good to use something that you feel happy with. Otherwise, it’s hard to keep with it everyday. Good luck!

I have scars on my forehead from when I was a little kid. They are indented scars. Will castor oil help? I don’t know if castor oil can raise my scars so they are move plush with the rest of my skin. Please help.

Hi Romy, I don’t see why not. Please give it a try, it worked for the indented scar in my burn (and is also working slowly on another scar that I got as a child on my elbow. It is >20 years old and raised).

Thank you!! Thank so much for sharing this information and inspiring me for not losing hope. I say this as I accidentally burned my whole right foot & left calf with boiling hot water+vicks where i was wearing nylon socks, which damaged the skin my the more. It turned has turned out to deep second degree burns. Its still in the healing stage, but I am way too concerned about the scars. But after reading your results with castor oil, I am hopeful that I too might get scar free in the months to come. Thanks again! 🙂

My scar is definitely fading and I believe with time and patience that it’ll be gone but what concerns me the most is the shape of it, its fading from the inside out meaning like the inside of my scar is fading but the edges are still trying to get there, do you think the shape will fuse with the rest of my skin?

Hi jules, my scars have healed from the inside out as well (spreading from the centre and outwards). I think that’s just the natural progression of the healing. So don’t worry — you’ll get there, it’s just a matter of time 🙂

Hello! Thank you for your post on castor oil. I have the same scar, and I was wondering how exactly it healed (in terms of colour). You said that there were dots that joined up…did it happen from the inside of the scar outwards? Or was it an all over effect. I ask this, because I commented a while back, and have used castor oil (semi religiously, shame on me…) However, whilst the centre of the scar is lightening in colour, the outside still forms a brown outline, that makes the scar seem more prominent in colour.

I’ve been using castor oil to heal a different scar for some time now and I’m seeing the same progression. It’s a straight raised scar on my elbow this time, and the middle portion has almost completely healed and flattened. So for now, it looks like it has “broken in two”!

Well it’s been 7 months since I scarred my leg and 5 months since I started using the castor oil. Although the scar has improved in indentation it still looks very red sometimes and seems to come and go at will.
Any advice on remaining patient?

My view is always that time will go by the same whether I try something or not. So there’s really nothing to lose, except maybe in our minds.

And this might sound counterintuitive, but sometimes it’s good to take our eyes off the prize, so we can just do what needs to be done to get there. If we keep focusing on what we haven’t got yet, it’s easy to forget what we’ve already gotten so far.

Plus you already have something big going for you now — you’ve personally seen improvement so you know it’s working. IMO, less indentation is a very encouraging development, so trust that changes are happening, but at your skin’s own pace.

Hello. Thank you for all of the great info!
Just three days ago I had many (about 70) broken capillaries lasered off of my back. The laser setting was to high for my skin and I currently have burns from each one on my back. They are purple and some are starting to blister.
The packs at night for me would be very difficult for me to apply and I also have lower back pain so sleeping on my stomach often hurts.
Given how new these burns are do you think they will heal quickly with just the use of topical castor oil during the day?
Thank you again!!! ~ Jeanne

Dear samantha,pls i have this wound on my face though it has healed but the mark nd scar are still there nd its swollen nd that place is now too dark 4 my liking.can castor oil do something on that nd where can i get it?Thanks

Hi jessica, yes, you can use castor oil to fade the mark (with time and patience).

Please take care though if the area is swollen, that would mean your wound hasn’t healed completely.

And I buy mine online from iherb.com (there’s a discount code at the top-right of this page). It’s also available on amazon, walgreens and other sites. You can also try looking for castor oil at pharmacies/pharmacy aisles (sold as a laxative).

Hi Samantha, thanks for writing about your experience with castor oil. I had a few questions. I was wondering about the other scar that you mentioned on the elbow (sounds like it might be a hypertrophic scar?) When did you start working on that one – and how long did it take to start noticing changes in it?
Also, do you think that covering the scar with some type of material is always best, or is rubbing the oil in just as beneficial in your opinion? Thanks !

Hi mg, yes the scar on my elbow is a hypertrophic scar, but it was so thick and hard that at first appearance, it actually looked like a keloid. It looks more like a hypertrophic scar now. I’ve been trying to fade it for a few years, but on and off (not sure exactly how long). Sorry, I can’t remember when I first started noticing changes in it off the top of my head, partly because it’s been such a long work-in-progress and also, because it doesn’t bother me as much, I’ve tended to ignore it for long periods of time and then randomly start back up using castor oil on it daily.

The changes have come pretty steadily when I do use castor oil on it though. It’s changed shape a few times throughout, broken in two, flattened and softened significantly, the dark red color has faded to a more natural brown, there’s many light spots all over it, and sporadically I’ve noticed hair appearing around the base. The sharp pains I’d get from bumping it against something have also all but disappeared now. Still, it’s a long way to go from fading completely. Vascularized scars takes more time to heal, I suppose.

I don’t think you’d necessarily need to cover the scar to get the best results (i.e. use a castor oil pack). Covering it certainly helps keep the oil on the skin if it’s in a place where it might be easily rubbed off. But if it’s not and you’re able to rub the oil in several times a day, you should get similarly good results with that as with using castor oil packs. Also, if using a pack feels uncomfortable, IMO it’s better to forgo it and instead find other ways of using castor oil that are easier to keep up with.

Hi,Samantha can i use hercules castor oil on my face?cause there are different of castor oil’s so i dnt knw which is the best but i bought hercules castor oil so i wanna knw, it is ryt to be used on the face ?

I’ve already commented above but I’m going to start again because I have more questions 🙁

So I’m 17 years old and when I was little I grew up with a strawberry Nevis on my nose which was raised and very red. I had laser surgery at 8 months of age and I ended up with a scar, when I was 13 years old I had the option to remove the faded scar, so I said yes. I had plastic surgery so the doctors basically cut some skin from behind my ear and placed it on my nose, I ended up with a very red hypertrophic scar. I regret having the operation but I was so young at the time I didn’t really think it though :/ anyway the scar has improved over the past 4 years but it’s still noticeable because it’s a hypertrophic scar. It’s red and the colour of the skin just doesn’t match my own, I feel self conscious and I really dislike the scar. I’ve been using castor oil for about a month, I’m not really sure if it’s making a difference. Could I wear castor oil under my makeup or would that take away the benefit? Considering I’ve had the scar for a while now, is there any chance of it completely fading?

Thanks a ton for all the wonderful information on castor oil. I have been using it quite irregularly for hair growth but now plan on using it more often.
Can castor oil be used on corn developed on the feet? Will it dissolve it completely or give temporary comfort only?
Your reply would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Son

Hi son, you’re very welcome. And I believe castor oil can dissolve corns given enough time and consistent use. You might want to try a makeshift castor oil pack by putting some castor oil on the corn, taping/wrapping up your toe in a bandaid or some cling film, and then wearing a sock to keep it in place. It’ll be good to do this before bed so it can work all night as you sleep. Good luck!

So, I was really touched by your story. I’m so glad everything healed so nicely for you after your accident. I have a question. …so I made the mistake of using a chemical peel on my elbows and it left me with really bad hyperpigmentation. Would you say this is permanent? Or will Jamaican black castor oil help me get my natural skin color back? I’m not exactly the most patient person, but if it works, it works. Please help! Thanks!

Hi Mystic1, the stars have really lined up today because believe it or not, *I* have a chemical peel burn too (and on my left elbow no less!).

I have a childhood scar there that I tried to fade a loooong time ago with a TCA peel. The peel didn’t do anything for the scar (which was a raised scar), but gave me a bad burn surrounding it, which later hyperpigmented. I’ve been trying to fade it with castor oil on-and-off for some time now (now that I know better…).

Progress is slow, but very similar to what I saw on the burn scar I had on my calf. It was originally quite dark, but it looks a lot lighter now because it’s heavily mottled with many light-colored healed spots all over.

So do give it a try, I thought my hyperpigmentation was permanent too — and it likely would have been without castor oil and a whole lotta patience 🙂

Hi,
Juts read so many comments and was wondering if I could use this castor oil to get rid of my huge keloids left after my heart by pass surgery on my leg and chest , I tried all steroids but nothing helps.
Thanks
Jonathan
.

Hi Jonathan, I’m sorry to hear about your scarring post-surgery. I don’t have any personal experience with treating keloids, but I do have an old hypertrophic scar on my elbow that was very hard, raised and red — and it’s been responding to castor oil, slowly but surely. You can read about it in an earlier comment here.

I have many visible scars on my body (rough life). What I want to try to get rid of is scar tissue in my throat area from a tracheostomy in 1970. A naturepath told me recently she thought this castor oil pack would help. This ‘mass’ of something is restricting my swallowing at times, and I’d really like to get it dissolved – gone.

Thanks! I’m so glad I asked. I’m giving it a try on my elbows, but I’m not going to expect much of a difference right now since I haven’t been doing this long. I’ll try to keep you updated on my progress and stay consistent in order to do so. Good luck!

Scars have layers so it’s possible you’re seeing what was lying underneath now as it’s being pushed upwards while your skin is healing from the bottom-up. This older reply I wrote might help you (in it I described how an old hypertrophic scar on my elbow widened as it healed).

But I can only speak from my own experience and it would be different from yours, so trusting your own judgement is always best — if you’re very worried, stop for a while and see what happens.

I have been having a hard time accepting the cellulite on the back of my thighs. I’ve been told by family and friends that it’s just part of life, but I don’t want to believe that. Do you think consistent application of castor oil at night while sleeping will help with cellulite?

Hi Natalie, yes I believe it can as cellulite is a type of scar tissue.

You might also considering painting iodine tincture over the area regularly if you don’t mind the temporary brown stain on your skin. This can help melt fat. But if you paint iodine tincture, remember to take breaks sometimes as applying it over and over again on the same area can lead to skin dryness/flaking/itchiness because of the alcohol.

It’s been a year since I burned myself so thought I would report back. The scar is still there but it is mainly white and no longer indented. There will probably always be a mark but the oils have definitely helped – I used vitamin e oil as well as castor oil.
Thank you for your time and patience in running this blog, it really helped 🙂

Hi denise, I’d say from my own experience to give castor oil (or another healing oil) a shot. I believe our bodies are more resilient and capable of renewal than conventional wisdom would suggest. Besides, the months and years will go by the same whether you try or not, so there’s really nothing to lose.

I’ve been in the process of healing a very hard raised scar on my elbow that has vascularised (which means it’s so old that it’s formed it’s own blood vessels!). It’s >20 years old and the changes I’ve seen/felt in it throughout the process has been and continues to be remarkable to me.
Now I don’t know what your scar is like, but mine was especially bad so I hope that gives you hope.

And at the risk of butting in when it’s not my place… as a fellow human being on this earth, I sincerely hope you have found a way to stop self-harming. Much love to you.

hi everyone, its really nice of you all to share your wonderful experience. these goes a long way in encouraging me that yes! my scar is not going to remain permanent but actually going to heal with time.it seriously borders me that i have such serious scar especially when I remember am still young and now restricted to a certain way of dressing just to cover the scar.
I will Luv to share the picture of my scar but I really don’t know how to do that.but if I get a clue, I will definetly.

I’m a believer in the healing powers of castor oil, it’s helped me grow hair back and I use it on scars as well (most recently my c-section scar). I wanted to share with you that my sister burned her calf on our granny’s motorcycle exhaust pipe over 20 years ago (playing around as kids! Lol) and she also suffered a second degree burn in an oval shape. She has a deep tan skin tone similar to Jennifer Lopez and she tends to scar deeper than her normal skin tone. She did not use anything topical to lighten her scar and it is still visible over 20 years later. So your use of castor oil I believe makes a huge difference. Thanks for sharing your story and process

Hello,
My neck and face have a greyish color and my dermatologist said its because i ve been using some cream which has not been suiting me.. and it is termed as dermal pigmentation. My whole face and neck is greyish black as compared to my hands which is fair… will applying castor oil help in reducing pigmentation on the dermal layer?

Hi Preety, you can definitely give castor oil a try. Be patient though as the damage you describe seem to be deep and chemical-induced, so healing will take time.

Things might appear worse also temporarily before healing can take place. Depending on the chemicals in the cream you used, there’s a chance you may see your skin go through some “purging”. Should that happen and feel uncomfortable, just remember “better out than in” and that your skin knows it’s a necessary step before it can repair the damage.

Hi
I am french and i read religiously your thread.
I apply castor oil since 2 months and my scar seems mote larger and white than before. Is it normal ?
It is indented scar on my cheek.
Thanks for your reply.

It’s normal for scars to change shape, widen and show color changes as they normally heal from the bottom-up.

A scar is like an iceberg, i.e there’s a lot more below the surface than what you can see. You’re most likely seeing a part of your scar that’s been sitting below your skin surface all along. As the scar rises as it heals, you’ll see more changes. That’s just the process. It’s not a quick fix and it may not be pretty, but if you keep up with it and don’t give up, it’ll be worth it.

If you can remember how you got the scar in the first place, as in the initial wound and how it was, you might even recognise the changing shapes.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions. I did laser treatment on my face for melasma. I ended up with darker spots. I just started using castor oil to get rid of these nasty spots, and wanted to know how long it takes for the “loosen effect” to happen. I’ve been using castor oil day and night for 3 straight days now, and I want to make sure I take a break before the “loosen effect” happens, since it’s on my face. Thank you so much for sharing.

It’s hard to say when loosening (if any) will occur for you as everyone’s skin is different in terms of texture/thickness etc. Plus, skin on the leg would also differ from that on the face (e.g. it’s more sensitive). So far my own experience with castor oil (24-hour intensive use) has only been on my body. I do use castor oil around my eyes before bed, but it only stays there overnight.

I think the best thing you can do is simply to observe your own facial skin and any changes that occur. The good thing is that the loosening will not be drastic and immediate, it would occur slowly and gradually. So you’ll be able to look out for any slight change in elasticity and take a break from castor oil before it gets more obvious (and only resume when the skin tightens back).

Thank you Sam! I will keep you posted. But I have another question… Do you think it’s wise to use castor oil at night time only? During the day time, I need full coverage makeup to cover the dark spots, and I’m not sure if I should use castor oil underneath the makeup. Please advise… or is it safe to use castor oil under sunblock?

Hi Samatha,
Here is an update… Its been 2 1/2 months since I used castor oil. the pigmentation lightened quite a bit (from black/dark blue to brow/tan color) I am starting to see the white spots that are getting bigger. I still have a long ways to go though. I am staying positive and patient. I will update you again in a few months. Thank you so much for your posts!!

I’ve already commented above but I’m going to start again because I have more questions 🙁

So I’m 18 years old and when I was little I grew up with a strawberry Nevis on my nose which was raised and very red. I had laser surgery at 8 months of age and I ended up with a scar, when I was 13 years old I had the option to remove the faded scar, so I said yes. I had plastic surgery so the doctors basically cut some skin from behind my ear and placed it on my nose, I ended up with a very red hypertrophic scar. I regret having the operation but I was so young at the time I didn’t really think it though :/ anyway the scar has improved over the past 4 years but it’s still noticeable because it’s a hypertrophic scar. It’s red and the colour of the skin just doesn’t match my own, I feel self conscious and I really dislike the scar. I’ve been using castor oil for about a month, I’m not really sure if it’s making a difference. Could I wear castor oil under my makeup or would that take away the benefit? Considering I’ve had the scar for a while now, is there any chance of it completely fading?

Hi Kate, I’m sorry you had to go through that when you were so young. I can understand feeling self-conscious, especially as a teenager. It’s NOT easy. But it gets better with time (even though it may not seem that way).

I would suggest just rubbing in castor oil over your scar whenever you can during the day (when you’re not using make-up) and overnight as you sleep. I used 24-hr intensive applications, but people have had good results fading their scars just by rubbing in healing oils (coconut oil, Vitamin E, shea butter etc) a few times a day, so don’t feel that you need to do what I did. It was just one way, not the only way.

So just do what’s comfortable for you, your life and your schedule — finding a stress-less routine will also make it more likely that you’ll keep up with it. And that’s really the key — time and persistence.

I hope you’ll keep up with it.

I won’t lie, I don’t know what the healing process will be like for a skin transplant scar (though I’m hopeful it will do you some good). Still, one month is much too short to judge. Give yourself a year at least. And if that timeline sounds too long, think of it this way — the year will go by the same whether you use castor oil or not, just as the last year have. So you’re not really losing anything by trying.

And how old a scar is doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve been treating a 20-year old hypertrophic scar on my elbow on-and-off with castor oil, and I’ve continued to see good changes and healing, so I can attest to that personally.

p.s: There’s no need to put castor oil under make-up. I think healing oils work partly because they keep scar tissue moist. Applying make-up over castor oil would negate that and you’d also be mixing chemicals in the make-up with the oil, which might lead to the chemicals being more readily absorbed into the skin.

I hope this helps you and I wish for you excellent and complete healing 🙂

Hi Samantha,
Thanks so much for your website and your time. I have a pretty thick white scar on my chin from really overusing a dermaroller. It’s definitely scar tissue. I’ve really looked at your pictures and it looks like your leg was pretty bad. Did your leg actually have thick scar tissue that the castor oil helped with or was it more just a discolored scar? Wondering if castor oil could help the thickness as well as the white part of my scar. I’m basically looking for a miracle or just hope and am terrified of doing a laser. Thanks again.

The burn scar on my leg was indented, as in I lost tissue (rather than gained) with my initial injury, and castor oil was able to help heal and “fill in” that lost tissue over time. I do believe my scarring was deep since I didn’t just have discolouration, but hair completely stopped growing and I lost sensitivity on that area, meaning my hair follicles and nerve cells were badly damaged (or dead). So in that sense, my leg scar was quite different from yours, which I assume is a raised scar (?).

However, I also have a scar on my elbow that’s >20 years old and started out as very thick, hard and raised. It’s so old that it had vascularised and was quite reddish. I’ve been using castor oil on it for a couple of years now and it’s been healing well and showing good changes. For example, it’s much softer and flatter than it was before. The colour has improved (from red to brown) and its texture is more like normal skin now. I’m quite amazed by this because for many years I really thought that scar would always stay the same. I wrote about my elbow scar and how it changed in this older comment if you’re interested.

I have the exact same scar! Mine is from a third degree burn and from a motorbike exhaust from 20 years ago (wow feeling old now). I was investigating the castor oil packs for my c-section scar but now I’m going to try it on my calf muscle scar too. I’m hoping to start this tonight. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing. xx

Hi , Sam . my name is Amar I have a burn on my neck which is almost 1 years old and its painful and now it had lead to contracture of my neck , doctors have recommended me for surgery , but I am afraid of its disadvantages , please tell me can castor oil help ?

Hi Amar, I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m not a medical doctor. You can try castor oil, it won’t cause any harm, but I would also suggest using your own good judgement. Even if castor oil can help (and I hope it can give you some relief), it might take up to a year or more for results.

Thanks for your post. I remembered it when i severly burnt my thigh with a whole pot of coffee fresh from the stove. After the cold water, I poured castor oil immediately and got some relief. I didnt want to go to hospital as i had no choice but to work the next day (small business). I kept the area free from clothing and reapplied at night. There was massive blistering which i managed to keep in tact. While the look was horrific, there was almost no pain with the castor oil. 2 weeks later and the skin had healed totally intact with only pigmentation damage. My friends were astounded as they all told me to go to hospital. So glad i didn’t get it treated aggressively.

I have found that putting a wet herbal tea bag over my face before the castor oil helps to hydrate the skin much better. The oil is so thick it can be drying without the moisture layer.

Hi kim, you’re very welcome 🙂 I’m so glad to hear that castor oil was able to relieve most of the pain and keep your skin intact — it sounds like the burn was pretty bad!

Thanks for sharing your story here and your tip about using a wet tea bag. I’m gonna give that a try.

By the way, my sister recently cut her finger quite deeply when she was prepearing food, and she said that castor oil did the same thing for her cut, there was no pain. Her daughter (my lovely niece) called it the magic oil!

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